OnlyFans’ owner nets $500mn windfall as platform for sex workers booms
Leo Radvinsky payment revealed as company unveils sevenfold surge in profits
The owner of OnlyFans has collected a $500mn windfall over the past two years from the booming popularity of the platform for sex workers and celebrities to sell content to their followers on the internet.
The dividend payments to Leo Radvinsky, a Ukrainian-American pornographer and internet entrepreneur, were disclosed by the UK-based company on Thursday as it unveiled a sevenfold surge in profits.
Payments of $284mn in 2021 and $233mn this year make Radvinsky one of the best paid owners of an internet start-up in Britain and underline the explosive growth of OnlyFans since the pandemic.
UK-based OnlyFans allows content creators such as fitness instructors, musicians and erotic stars to sell video clips, messages and articles directly to fans who pay between $5 and $50 a month, of which the group takes a 20 per cent cut.
In its annual report, the company revealed pre-tax profits in the year to November 2021 jumped from $61mn to $433mn while revenues soared from $358mn to $932mn.
In total OnlyFans users spent nearly $4.8bn on the platform in 2021 for pornography, workout advice and cooking tips, the bulk of which went directly to creators.
Publicity-shy Radvinsky made his fortune in online pornography and adult live-video sites before buying OnlyFans in 2018. Its founders Tim Stokely, an Essex based entrepreneur, his father Guy, a former City of London banker, left the company late last year.
OnlyFans flourished because it allowed people with a large social media following to monetise content without having to rely on sponsored adverts or promotional deals, a breakthrough for adult entertainers who struggled to get viewers to pay for a product freely available on many other sites.
OnlyFans profits now far exceed those of MindGeek, the adult entertainment empire behind sites such as Pornhub and YouPorn.
In recent years OnlyFans has tried to craft a more mainstream brand, claiming that a growing number of its creators sell non-sexual content. But it has yet to disclose figures on the breakdown of its revenues.
The company faced a wave of criticism and mockery last year when it unexpectedly banned pornography on the site before backtracking on the decision.
Founder Stokely told the Financial Times at the time the move was prompted by banks, wary of being associated with pornography, flagging and rejecting its payments to performers all around the world.
Amrapali Gan, Stokely’s successor as chief executive of OnlyFans, said: “Our creator-first approach to building the world’s safest social media platform propelled OnlyFans to a record-breaking 2021.”
Research Calls
- Upgrades:
- Baidu (BIDU) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan; tgt raised to $200
- Futu Holdings (FUTU) upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at JP Morgan; tgt raised to $62
- Futu Holdings (FUTU) upgraded to Underperform from Sell at CLSA; tgt raised to $46
- Downgrades:
- Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) downgraded to Underperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James
- Compagnie Financiere Richemont (CFRUY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC Securities
- Electrolux (ELUXY) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan
- GEA Group (GEAGY) downgraded to Underweight from Neutral at JP Morgan
- GitLab (GTLB) downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan; tgt $63
- Hermes (HESAY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC Securities
- HP Inc. (HPQ) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Loop Capital; tgt lowered to $29
- LVMH (LVMUY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC Securities
- Molson Coors Brewing (TAP) downgraded to Sell from Buy at Bryan Garnier; tgt $54
- Seagate Tech (STX) downgraded to Hold from Buy at The Benchmark Company
- Semtech (SMTC) downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen; tgt lowered to $43
- Swatch (SWGAY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC Securities
- VNET Group (VNET) downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Credit Suisse; tgt lowered to $5.90
- Western Digital (WDC) downgraded to Sell from Hold at The Benchmark Company; tgt $34
- Others:
- AerSale (ASLE) initiated with a Buy at Stifel; tgt $23
- AnaptysBio (ANAB) initiated with an Outperform at Raymond James; tgt $35
- Appian (APPN) initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup; tgt $55
- Asana (ASAN) initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup; tgt $23
- Aviat Networks (AVNW) initiated with a Mkt Outperform at JMP Securities; tgt $50
- BlackLine (BL) initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup; tgt $73
- Box (BOX) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup; tgt $34
- Ceridian HCM (CDAY) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup; tgt $73
- CTI BioPharma (CTIC) initiated with a Buy at Jefferies; tgt $13
- Coupa Software (COUP) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup; tgt $77
- D-Wave Quantum (QBTS) initiated with a Buy at WestPark Capital; tgt $13
- Datadog (DDOG) initiated with a Buy at BofA Securities; tgt $135
- Dropbox (DBX) initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup; tgt $24
- Expensify (EXFY) assumed with a Buy at Citigroup; tgt lowered to $25
- HomeTrust Bank (HTBI) initiated with an Outperform at Raymond James; tgt $30
- Instructure (INST) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup; tgt $30
- Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) initiated with a Sell at Citigroup; tgt $50
- Intuit (INTU) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup; tgt $538
- Midland States Bancorp (MSBI) initiated with a Mkt Perform at Raymond James
- Mirum Pharmaceuticals (MIRM) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup; tgt $38
- Monday.com (MNDY) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup; tgt $156
- Open Text (OTEX) initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup; tgt $34
- Paycom Software (PAYC) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup; tgt $457
- Paycor (PYCR) initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup; tgt $30
- Paylocity (PCTY) initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup; tgt $294
- Pegasystems (PEGA) initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup; tgt $39
- Pliant Therapeutics (PLRX) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup; tgt $36
- PTC Therapeutics (PTCT) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup; tgt $70
- Smartsheet (SMAR) assumed with a Neutral at Citigroup; tgt lowered to $40
- Vertex (VERX) initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup; tgt $15
- Workday (WDAY) initiated with a Neutral at Citigroup; tgt $186
- Workiva (WK) initiated with a Buy at Citigroup; tgt $86
Gapping down
In reaction to earnings/guidance:
- MDB -17%, OKTA -16.3%, SMTC -15.6%, AI -13.1%, VEEV -12.5%, CIEN -9.5%, HRL -5.5%, PDCO -4.9%, FLWS -4.4%, WB -3.3%, CPB -2.5%, SCWX -1.9%, MOMO -1.4%, BRC -1.2%, SAIC -1.1%
Other news:
- ANAB -15.2% (reports HARP Phase 2 Top-Line Data of Imsidolimab)
- BBW -12.5% (authorizes new $50 mln share repurchase program)
- ZFOX -7.1% (stock offering)
- AVDL -5.6% (files for $500 mln mixed securities shelf offering)
- NVDA -4.3% (US govt informs NVDA that it has imposed a new license for sales of A100 and H100 chips to China and Russia)
- RIO -3.2% (acquiring TRQ for CAD43.00 per share)
- MXL -2.5% (China SMAR advises MXL and SIMO to refile under the normal procedure)
- LI -2% (August deliveries)
- XPEV -1.9% (August deliveries)
- NIO -1.7% (August deliveries)
- MSTR -1.7% (confirms AG complaint)
- MKFG -1.2% (files for 4.1 mln share offering by selling shareholder)
- WAFD -1.2% (names new CFO)
- PAR -1.1% (files for 162917 share offering by selling shareholders)
Analyst comments:
- BBBY -3.6% (downgraded to Underperform from Mkt Perform at Raymond James)
- NTLA -2.5% (initiated with a Sell at Citigroup)